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Wendy’s much-celebrated pretzel bun is leaving on a high note as
the company makes room for new products.

The pretzel bun, the cornerstone of the Pretzel Bacon
Cheeseburger and the Pretzel Pub Chicken Sandwich, quickly found
hordes of hungry fans and was intensely advertised by the fast
food chain. Few buns have had the honor of boy band legend Nick
Lachey singing love songs about them based on customers’ tweets.

The advertising and the innovative bun paid off for Wendy’s
sales. In the third quarter, same-store sales increased
3.2 percent, compared to 2.7 percent in the previous year.
Consolidated revenues were $640.8 million, up from $636.3
million last year. The company attributed part of its
quarterly success to its pretzel bun-based menu items.

Despite its success, the pretzel bun was always planned as a
limited time offering. As with many limited-time offerings, the
initiative served its purpose: it drove in customers and left
them wanting more. “Bringing new food ideas to our customers
attracts them into our restaurants,” said Wendy’s representative
Denny Lynch.

Wendy’s is attempting to continue the string of bun innovations
with the brioche bun on the Bacon Portabella Melt. “We have
introduced three unique break carriers this year – multi-grain
flatbread, pretzel, and now brioche,” said Lynch. “These breads
elevate the quality of our sandwich offerings.” The brioche bun
can already be found in restaurants, but hasn’t yet received the
buzz of the pretzel bun.

Still, pretzel bun-lovers shouldn’t accept the end of the pretzel
bun just yet. While Wendy’s has declined to reveal future plans
for the pretzel buns, the trend of releasing and re-releasing
customer favorites, from Pumpkin Spice
Lattes to the McRib, is a
common move from the chain restaurant playbook. Even as the year
of the bun ends, who knows where pretzel burgers will turn up in
2014.

The pretzel bun was a key player in what Burger Business calls
the “ Year of the Bun. ” In Brooklyn, the Ramen
Burger had customers waiting hours in line for a patty on a
noodle bun. Sonic Drive-In offered burgers with buns printed
with edible logos of college football powerhouses. Sonic
additionally rolled out pretzel hot dogs, as Ruby Tuesday also
tried its hand at pretzel buns. Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s are
just now jumping on the bandwagon, launching a pair of ads promoting their fresh-baked
buns and taking aim at competitors who bake their bread off
premise.